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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22890364">Paint Me In Trust</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphinianus/pseuds/seraphinianus'>seraphinianus</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Trek, Star Trek: The Next Generation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>And in love, Angst probably, M/M, Other, dont worry there will be a happy ending, eventually at least - Freeform, i cant take fics w/o happy endings..., idk what to tag this aaa, if i was a starfleet captain i would simply kiss the annoying, if you havent realized by now, omnipotent entity that has been pestering me for years, q is stupid, rip 2 everyone else but im different</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-03-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 11:15:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,474</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22890364</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraphinianus/pseuds/seraphinianus</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The Enterprise is docked at a starbase for the next week or so, and the crew is free to do whatever they want at their own leisure. Though, it's a struggle for one certain Starfleet captain to find something to do - and a particular omnipotent entity wants to help.<br/>--<br/><i>The title is a lyric from Dodie's song "Human" :)</i></p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jean-Luc Picard/Q</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>41</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Better Alone</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>HEY!! So this is my first time writing a fan fic of any sort (excluding the time I tried to in 2016...I only got a paragraph or so down haha...) Anyways, I really don't know what direction this fic will take. Mostly writing this for fun :p Hope you all enjoy!!! Also, I suppose I should change my username to average_fanfic_reader_and_writer now ;)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Picard sat alone in his ready room, staring at his PADD. The engine of the starship whirred and faded into background noise. The Enterprise has been docked at a starbase for the past day or so, for maintenance checks and other such things, and they'll likely be remaining there for the rest of the week. He sighed and shook his head, sliding the PADD onto his desk. </p><p>It's a good thing, no? To have a break finally? Picard tried to convince himself, but his efforts were futile. Everyone else on the ship seemed to be enjoying themselves - chatting in Ten Forward, playing through imaginary situations on the holodeck, striking up conversations with crew members they've never even talked to before - hell, even Worf was spending some time with his son.</p><p>But Picard sat in his ready room...alone.</p><p>He was just about to rise from his chair and walk onto the bridge when a familiar chime came from the door. He sat back down.</p><p>"Come." </p><p>"Captain," Riker entered with a warm smile, "Troi and I were wondering if you would like to join us and a few other crew members in Ten Forward."</p><p>"No, but thank you." Jean-Luc smiled weakly, he wasn't in the mood to converse with anyone.</p><p>Riker starred at the captain for a moment. His expression began to fade into a worried one, his voice turning into a whisper, "Captain, Troi thinks it's best for you to-"</p><p>"Number one, I'm fine." Picard said with a reassuring smile, cutting him off.</p><p>Riker straightened his posture, giving the captain one quick glance of worry before exiting the room. Picard sighed and rubbed his eyes with the back of his hands. It surely was dull having the Enterprise parked at a starbase. He starred at the wall and thought about the things he could possibly do in the meantime to entertain himself. Maybe a little reading...? No, he could do that anytime, really. Maybe run a Dixon Hill simulation on the holodeck? Too late, he thought, all the holodecks are taken by now. He went back and picked up his PADD and stared at it blankly in disinterest.</p><p>"Alone <i>again</i>, mon capitaine?" </p><p>Picard looked up and locked eyes with the omnipotent entity that laid sprawled across his couch like some feline. He wore the usual starfleet uniform. </p><p>"Q," he said, with less distaste than he hoped. "What do you want?" He was disappointed to find that he was slightly glad to see the entity. Stopping another one of Q's plans would certainly make the day more interesting. </p><p>"Oh, nothing, Jean-Luc," Q said playfully, "Just here to see my favorite starfleet captain, that is all." </p><p>There was silence as Picard coldly starred at the man (who-wasn't-quite-exactly-a-man).</p><p>"Leave, Q." Picard finally said, silently hoping Q would be stubborn, like he usually is. </p><p>"Oh, Jean-Luc! How rude of you!" Q said, pretending to be offended. "Is this how you treat all your guests? And I had such a great surprise..."</p><p>Q rose from the couch and slowly walked over to the desk. Picard said nothing as he stared down the entity, he couldn't decide if he wanted to know where this was going or not. Q took a quick glance at everything around the empty room. </p><p>"How boring. Of course you would stay locked up in here instead of enjoying your free time," He scoffed, "I don't understand you humans, you talk about freedom but make the choice to stay in a room locked away from everyone else. Pity, really, so small minded. If you had <i>true</i> freedom I bet you would still remai-" </p><p>"Q. Leave." his voice was more stern. He realized Q was just here to annoy him, which was something he really wasn't in the mood for. God, he needed sleep...</p><p>"Fine." Q said with a tone of voice that seemed like he was genuinely hurt. A pang of guilt rushed through Jean-Luc for a moment - to his own surprise. Was Q...? Ah, nevermind. The entity flashed away with a snap of his fingers and a bright light. Picard was midway through another sigh when he discovered he was suddenly standing in the doorway of Ten Forward. </p><p>Troi was seated at a table with Riker when she felt the captain's discombobulated presence. She turned around and gave him a soft smile. He noticed her and gave a partially confused smile back, fixing his uniform. <i>Dammit, Q.</i></p><p>"I thought you said you weren't going to join us." Riker said jokingly as he made his way over to the captain.</p><p>"I wasn't." he said playfully, trying to mask his confusion that Troi has probably caught onto by now. Riker stared at Picard, puzzled, as they made their way over to Troi.</p><p>"Captain." Troi greeted him with a small smile. "Counselor." Jean-Luc nodded as he and Riker took their seats. </p><p>Riker eyed Picard for a moment. "Is everything alright, sir?" </p><p>He sat there, contemplating if everything was alright or not. Q was likely going to show up again, and Picard hoped he wasn't going to throw the whole crew into some sort of frenzy. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, he thought, didn't want that to be ruined for anyone. Q did have some sort of surprise in store - whatever that may be - and knowing Q, it was bound to be something...well...interesting.</p><p>"Captain?" Troi looked at him with a worried expression. He didn't realize how long he sat in silence, lost in thought. </p><p>"Yes, just a bit confused," he reassured her. "You'll be surprised how little there is for a starfleet captain to do during a time like this." </p><p>"Well, I'm glad you could join us!" Riker playfully put a firm hand on Picard's shoulder as he rose from his chair. "I'll get us a few drinks." </p><p>As Riker made his way over to the bar, Troi directed her attention back to Picard. "Captain, are you sure you're alright?" her voice was a whisper. "Do you want me to walk down with you to sick ba-"</p><p>"I'm fine, counselor." he cut her off. "I think I just might need some rest." He gave her one last quick smile before getting up from his chair. Riker watched Picard leave Ten Forward as he made his way to the table with the drinks. He looked down at Troi in confusion.</p><p>"What was that?"</p><p>"I don't know." </p><p>"You believe him? What he said about having nothing to do?" he said as he slid into the chair across from her.</p><p>"Yes, but... there's something else..." she said, her eyes glued on the door. The two of them both shared a bewildered look as they stared at the exit.</p>
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>---</p>
</div>Picard sighed as he locked eyes with himself in the mirror. He spent some time reading, but he couldn't help but feel on edge the whole time. When was Q going to show up again? When he's trying to sleep? Tomorrow? A week from now when they've (hopefully) already left the starbase? Ah, god, that would be horrible...<p>What the hell was wrong with him, anyways? He should be glad Q isn't around. It's not everyday Q actually leaves when Picard tells him to. He just wanted to get whatever the hell Q had in store over with before he had to get back to work.</p><p>He shook the thoughts from his head as he got into bed. He should probably stop stressing out about everything. Something to do will certainly show up in the next few days, and even if nothing does, spending some time with the crew could never hurt.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Time</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The passage of time is nothing to a Q. </p><p>Oh, but to mortals—them and their small minds—linear time is something important. Linear time, of course, doesn’t actually exist but to mortals it’s something valuable. Something that helps them understand the bizarre and unpredictable universe (to the best of their extent, at least). </p><p>But if time meant nothing to an entity who can bend the universe every which way then why was one particular Q so fascinated with it? Well, not time in its entirety, but one very specific moment in time. </p><p>A mortal's equivalent of a week; or roughly about that amount of time. </p><p>Now why was this Q—one who has time wrapped around his finger—so intrigued? Why was this Q so enthralled by this one, <i>singular,</i> mortal week? To a Q a week meant nothing, <i>decades</i> meant nothing. So, that one particular Q—one who stuck out from all the others—sat there, gambling the rest of his immortal life on the outcome of a single week, hoping to roll a pair of boxcars in the game of hope and love. </p><p><i>Oh, but</i> monsieur,<i> the Q cannot feel emotion—let alone take</i> risks! Oh, but this Q is one particularly odd Q, isn’t he?</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>aaa So yeah, I lied, this chapter is quite shorter than the last. Next one will be longer, though, I promise! I have a half day Friday so I'll have more time to type this :) anyways I don't know if I'm going to have like a posting schedule for this or not, but probably not to be honest. I kind of just write when I feel like it and things are hectic with school so yepp! anyways this chapter was a bit different but I hope y'all enjoyed ;) (also went back and fixed some grammar and spelling errors in the previous chapter)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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